Songs with factual errors in them?
May 31, 2018 7:34 PM
Toto's "Africa" refers to Mount Kilimanjaro rising above the Serengeti, but the mountain isn't actually in that geographic area. Chicago's song "Saturday in the Park" has a line that's supposed to be someone singing in Italian, but it's actually made-up Italian-sounding gibberish. What other songs have factual mistakes and errors in them?
“Richard”, by Billy Bragg.
I've made a few references. For example, in Richard there's the line "every alpha particle hides a neon nucleus". I know the neon nucleus thing isn't accurate, but otherwise it didn't scan.
posted by fawaffle at 7:46 PM on May 31, 2018
I've made a few references. For example, in Richard there's the line "every alpha particle hides a neon nucleus". I know the neon nucleus thing isn't accurate, but otherwise it didn't scan.
posted by fawaffle at 7:46 PM on May 31, 2018
If gibberish lyrics count, Adriano Celentano's Prisencolinensinainciusol takes the prize
posted by gyusan at 7:59 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by gyusan at 7:59 PM on May 31, 2018
Poison's ballad Every Rose Has It Is Thorn
posted by Rat Spatula at 8:00 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by Rat Spatula at 8:00 PM on May 31, 2018
In The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Gordon Lightfoot sings that the ship was “fully loaded for Cleveland.” It was actually going to Detroit.
Other errors in that song here.
posted by FencingGal at 8:00 PM on May 31, 2018
Other errors in that song here.
posted by FencingGal at 8:00 PM on May 31, 2018
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerallllld has several factual errors. Gordon Lightfoot corrected one of them in later versions of the song (no longer saying that the main hatchway caved in, after it was proven that it hadn't).
posted by Elly Vortex at 8:01 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by Elly Vortex at 8:01 PM on May 31, 2018
"Why Does the Sun Shine?" ("The sun is a mass of incandescent gas....")
Hilariously corrected, years later:
Forget that song
(Plasma!) They got it wrong
That thesis has been rendered invalid
posted by steady-state strawberry at 8:03 PM on May 31, 2018
Hilariously corrected, years later:
Forget that song
(Plasma!) They got it wrong
That thesis has been rendered invalid
posted by steady-state strawberry at 8:03 PM on May 31, 2018
Though in the studio recording of "Saturday in the Park" they sing the lyric "Eh Cumpari" followed by some gibberish, in a live recording from 1972(the year the song was recorded) the singer from Chicago correctly sings the first line of Eh Cumpari after name checking the song. There is some discussion of this at the Wikipedia page of Saturday in the Park.
posted by GregorWill at 8:06 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by GregorWill at 8:06 PM on May 31, 2018
"Early morning April 4th shots ring out in a Memphis skyyyyyyy"
MLK was shot in the evening. Bono sometimes fixes it in performances.
posted by jessamyn at 8:10 PM on May 31, 2018
MLK was shot in the evening. Bono sometimes fixes it in performances.
posted by jessamyn at 8:10 PM on May 31, 2018
1) U2 Pride (In The Name of Love)
Early morning, April 4, shots ring out in the Memphis Sky
MLK was assassinated at 6pm
2) Band Aid: Do They Know It's Christmas
2a) There won't be snow in Africa this Christmas
The Atlas Mountains in Morocco gets tons of snow in December
2b) Pretty much the entire song itself.
Of course they don't know it's Christmas if they practice a religion other than Christianity
3) None of the situations in Alanis Morrissette's 'Ironic' are ironic. They're just a pain in the ass
4) Fleetwood Mac: Dreams
Thunder only happens when it's raining
Completely false. Thunder is associated with many meteorological and atmospheric phenomena--among them volcanic eruptions and thermonuclear explosions
posted by BadgerDoctor at 8:14 PM on May 31, 2018
Early morning, April 4, shots ring out in the Memphis Sky
MLK was assassinated at 6pm
2) Band Aid: Do They Know It's Christmas
2a) There won't be snow in Africa this Christmas
The Atlas Mountains in Morocco gets tons of snow in December
2b) Pretty much the entire song itself.
Of course they don't know it's Christmas if they practice a religion other than Christianity
3) None of the situations in Alanis Morrissette's 'Ironic' are ironic. They're just a pain in the ass
4) Fleetwood Mac: Dreams
Thunder only happens when it's raining
Completely false. Thunder is associated with many meteorological and atmospheric phenomena--among them volcanic eruptions and thermonuclear explosions
posted by BadgerDoctor at 8:14 PM on May 31, 2018
One of my favorite songs ever is the Murder of Maria Marten as sung by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band.
The song is based on a couple historic broadsides telling the story of the Red Barn Murder, in which William Corder of Suffolk murdered his lover Maria Marten over their affair.
The song (and one of the original broadsides) states that Maria Marten's ghost had appeared to her mother "who'd suckled her at her breast" to tell her where she'd been buried. The inaccuracy is actually not the part about the haunting; they did find the body thanks to a tip from Maria's ghost. The inaccuracy is that the woman who reported the haunting was not her mother, but her stepmother, Ann Marten, who was not much older than Maria. Ann claimed to have been visited by Maria's ghost, who led her to the location of the body in the Red Barn. There is speculation that Ann and William had had an affair of their own, and that she knew the location of Maria's body because of her own involvement in Maria's death. That much is unclear.
Anyway, this was the first song that came to mind. Yes, Maria's body was found because someone claimed that her ghost had told her, but it's wasn't her mother "who suckled her at her breast." It portrays her as a tender, loving mother, when that wasn't what the relationship between them appears to have been.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 8:14 PM on May 31, 2018
The song is based on a couple historic broadsides telling the story of the Red Barn Murder, in which William Corder of Suffolk murdered his lover Maria Marten over their affair.
The song (and one of the original broadsides) states that Maria Marten's ghost had appeared to her mother "who'd suckled her at her breast" to tell her where she'd been buried. The inaccuracy is actually not the part about the haunting; they did find the body thanks to a tip from Maria's ghost. The inaccuracy is that the woman who reported the haunting was not her mother, but her stepmother, Ann Marten, who was not much older than Maria. Ann claimed to have been visited by Maria's ghost, who led her to the location of the body in the Red Barn. There is speculation that Ann and William had had an affair of their own, and that she knew the location of Maria's body because of her own involvement in Maria's death. That much is unclear.
Anyway, this was the first song that came to mind. Yes, Maria's body was found because someone claimed that her ghost had told her, but it's wasn't her mother "who suckled her at her breast." It portrays her as a tender, loving mother, when that wasn't what the relationship between them appears to have been.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 8:14 PM on May 31, 2018
Sade, "Smooth Operator" - "Coast to coast, L.A. to Chicago...."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:22 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:22 PM on May 31, 2018
Famously, there is no South Detroit.
Nor an East Side of Chicago
posted by hwyengr at 8:22 PM on May 31, 2018
Nor an East Side of Chicago
posted by hwyengr at 8:22 PM on May 31, 2018
Clearly, Sade was talking about the coast of Lake Michigan.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:23 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 8:23 PM on May 31, 2018
Bruce Springsteen's song Born in the U.S.A. has a line "I had a brother at Khe Sanh fighting off the Viet Cong". Khe Sanh was fought between the People’s Army of North Vietnam (PAVN) and the United States Marine Corps. Bruce's brother actually fought off NVA regulars.
posted by Rob Rockets at 8:28 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by Rob Rockets at 8:28 PM on May 31, 2018
The Jacobite folk song “The Haughs of Cromdale” wrote a victory for the Jacobites when it was really a significant defeat that ended Jacobite military resistance for some 25 years. It also credits James Graham as Jacobite leader, which would have seen difficult, as he’d been dead for nearly 40 years at the time of the battle.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:51 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:51 PM on May 31, 2018
rosemary clooney's "mambo italiano" is just a bunch of random italian, spanish, and napolitano words mashed together with english.
posted by poffin boffin at 9:18 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by poffin boffin at 9:18 PM on May 31, 2018
Mountain Goats, "Fall of the High School Running Back": "a new law said seventeen-year-olds could do federal time/you were the first one"--the small number of juvenile prisoners technically in federal custody (mostly from tribal lands) are never actually housed in federal prison, as they may not be incarcerated where they would come into contact with adult prisoners, and there are no specialized federal facilities for juveniles. They're instead sent to various state facilities.
posted by praemunire at 9:20 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by praemunire at 9:20 PM on May 31, 2018
Kanye West, "Black Skinhead" has a bit with "I keep it 300, like the Romans"
posted by reductiondesign at 9:44 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by reductiondesign at 9:44 PM on May 31, 2018
"Deadly for twelve thousand years / is carbon-14" - Sting, "We Work The Black Seam"
Carbon-14 is a beta emitter and is not gonna kill you as fast as a bunch of other things in a pile of nuclear slag.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:02 PM on May 31, 2018
Carbon-14 is a beta emitter and is not gonna kill you as fast as a bunch of other things in a pile of nuclear slag.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:02 PM on May 31, 2018
Also, that's two half-lives; I'm not sure how that would render a deadly sample non-deadly.
posted by praemunire at 10:37 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by praemunire at 10:37 PM on May 31, 2018
further to above:
Band Aid: Do They Know It's Christmas
2c) Yes, of course they do - Ethiopia is one of the countries with the longest history of Christianity in the world.
posted by coleboptera at 10:47 PM on May 31, 2018
Band Aid: Do They Know It's Christmas
2c) Yes, of course they do - Ethiopia is one of the countries with the longest history of Christianity in the world.
posted by coleboptera at 10:47 PM on May 31, 2018
"You're So Vain" contains the erroneous supposition that I think the song is about me. I've never even met Carly Simon.
posted by Smearcase at 10:48 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by Smearcase at 10:48 PM on May 31, 2018
Sublime's "April 29th, 1992 (Miami)" was mistakenly sung as April 26th but the band kept it because the take was so good.
posted by cali59 at 10:49 PM on May 31, 2018
posted by cali59 at 10:49 PM on May 31, 2018
Sometimes the snow comes down in June, but I promise you the sun never goes round the moon.
posted by Iteki at 12:16 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by Iteki at 12:16 AM on June 1, 2018
Off the Florida Keys, there is NOT a little place called Kokomo.
posted by mmoncur at 12:34 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by mmoncur at 12:34 AM on June 1, 2018
Band Aid: Do They Know It's Christmas
Come on. This is not supposed to mean "are people in Africa aware of the significance of this date in the Christian calendar and that it's quite soon?" It means "If the idea of Christmas as a time of community, generosity, bounty and relief from worldly cares means anything, it ought be extended to all -- particularly those suffering in the (then) current famine".
posted by hawthorne at 12:44 AM on June 1, 2018
Come on. This is not supposed to mean "are people in Africa aware of the significance of this date in the Christian calendar and that it's quite soon?" It means "If the idea of Christmas as a time of community, generosity, bounty and relief from worldly cares means anything, it ought be extended to all -- particularly those suffering in the (then) current famine".
posted by hawthorne at 12:44 AM on June 1, 2018
2d - Regarding Band Aid, I'm afraid it gets worse. It was recorded largely in response to the 1983-1985 Ethiopian famine. Ethiopia, with its long history of Coptic Christianity, celebrates Christmas, but on December 25th in the Julian calendar, which (currently) corresponds to January 7th in the more commonly used Gregorian calendar. As far as snow goes, Northern Ethiopia is also home to the Semien mountains, which are one of the few places in Africa where snow falls on the reg.
So, to sum up:
posted by spielzebub at 1:21 AM on June 1, 2018
So, to sum up:
- There was almost definitely snow in Africa, and probably even in Ethiopia specifically
- Most Ethiopians did know when Christmas was
- It wasn't Christmas
posted by spielzebub at 1:21 AM on June 1, 2018
The first verse of The Mountain Goats' song "The Anglo-Saxons" is actually about the Picts.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 1:33 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 1:33 AM on June 1, 2018
Katie Melua’s nine million bicycles had an error about the size of the universe. You can hear the corrected version here.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 2:55 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 2:55 AM on June 1, 2018
It's pretty well-documented that Lionel Ritchie's All Night Long features the exuberant 'African' line Tambo liteh sette mo-jah! - which is gibberish. Extra confusing because he also accidentally inserts real African language vocab, Jambo ('Hello' in Swahili) along the way.
posted by freya_lamb at 3:13 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by freya_lamb at 3:13 AM on June 1, 2018
The Dead Milkmen, Punk Rock Girl:
"And someone played a Beach Boys song on the jukebox
It it was California Dreamin' [by the Mamas and the Papas]"
posted by ITheCosmos at 3:22 AM on June 1, 2018
"And someone played a Beach Boys song on the jukebox
It it was California Dreamin' [by the Mamas and the Papas]"
posted by ITheCosmos at 3:22 AM on June 1, 2018
Stan Roger's Barrett's Privateers is a sea shanty that largely makes zero sense when it comes to boat-y stuff. (For example, the singer loses his legs to the main truck which...is not technically impossible I guess but is, um, highly unlikely.) Also I have just learned from the wiki article that Sherbrooke did not exist at the time the song is set.
posted by kalimac at 4:14 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by kalimac at 4:14 AM on June 1, 2018
Vertigo by U2:
At the beginning of the song, Bono counts off in Spanish "Unos, dos, tres, catorce!"[10] In English, this translates to "some, two, three, fourteen!"[11] When asked about this oddity in an interview for Rolling Stone, Bono replied "there may have been some alcohol involved".[12]posted by rollick at 4:31 AM on June 1, 2018
The B-52’s wrote “Mesopotamia” with an encyclopedia at hand... to make sure they didn’t get any facts right!
posted by SansPoint at 4:45 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by SansPoint at 4:45 AM on June 1, 2018
ITheCosmos: The Beach Boys did a cover of “California Dreamin’”, though it was on some kinda 80s greatest hits compilation.
posted by SansPoint at 4:47 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by SansPoint at 4:47 AM on June 1, 2018
The theme song for The Big Bang Theory, by Barenaked Ladies, says that the universe began 14 million years ago.
posted by megatherium at 5:12 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by megatherium at 5:12 AM on June 1, 2018
In Without Me, Eminem says “I’m on the rag and ovulating” which isn’t how menstruation works.
posted by kapers at 5:18 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by kapers at 5:18 AM on June 1, 2018
the universe began 14 million years ago
Isn't that lyric 14 billion years? Which is in line with current thinking.
posted by freya_lamb at 5:34 AM on June 1, 2018
Isn't that lyric 14 billion years? Which is in line with current thinking.
posted by freya_lamb at 5:34 AM on June 1, 2018
This might be stretching your definition of song, but it’s generally known that the ending song for the TV show WKRP is made up of gibberish.
https://boingboing.net/2018/03/18/the-wkrp-in-cincinnati-clo.html/amp
On the other hand, this person says there are lyrics!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Yj-p9Ix_TAw
posted by tcv at 5:43 AM on June 1, 2018
https://boingboing.net/2018/03/18/the-wkrp-in-cincinnati-clo.html/amp
On the other hand, this person says there are lyrics!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Yj-p9Ix_TAw
posted by tcv at 5:43 AM on June 1, 2018
Famously, there is no South Detroit.
Nor an East Side of Chicago
East Chicago, Indiana.
posted by Stewriffic at 5:59 AM on June 1, 2018
Nor an East Side of Chicago
East Chicago, Indiana.
posted by Stewriffic at 5:59 AM on June 1, 2018
from “I Got Spurs that Jingle-Jangle-Jingle”:
“...and that song ain’t so very far from wrong.”
meaning it’s practically untrue, I guess!
posted by BostonTerrier at 6:14 AM on June 1, 2018
“...and that song ain’t so very far from wrong.”
meaning it’s practically untrue, I guess!
posted by BostonTerrier at 6:14 AM on June 1, 2018
This isn’t exactly a factual error, but when John Lennon wrote I am the Walrus, he named it after the Lewis Carroll poem The Walrus and the Carpenter, which he knew was a critique of capitalism, but he didn’t understand that the walrus was the bad guy. He said later that he probably should have called it I am the Carpenter, though he also said that wouldn’t have been the same..
posted by FencingGal at 6:21 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by FencingGal at 6:21 AM on June 1, 2018
Another geographic confusion is in Kim Carnes' "Kids in America": "From New York to East California" sounds like a mistake rather than a reference to a real area.
Also, there's not really a "Dark Side of the Moon" any more than there is a dark side of the Earth, it's merely night at a given time and place and day at other times. There really is a far side though.
posted by jclarkin at 6:24 AM on June 1, 2018
Also, there's not really a "Dark Side of the Moon" any more than there is a dark side of the Earth, it's merely night at a given time and place and day at other times. There really is a far side though.
posted by jclarkin at 6:24 AM on June 1, 2018
I'm not 100% sure this counts, but when Jah Rule came after 50 cent in his diss track Loose Change, he somehow managed to misspell "murder" while spelling it out in his flow "M-U-R-E-D-R"
(Content warning for excessive and offensive everything, though the link takes you to the relevant timestamp, and you back out after a chuckle)
posted by 256 at 6:24 AM on June 1, 2018
(Content warning for excessive and offensive everything, though the link takes you to the relevant timestamp, and you back out after a chuckle)
posted by 256 at 6:24 AM on June 1, 2018
In Recycled Air by the postal service he says "as the landing gear detract". It has bothered me forever. He also later uses the word candelabra to mean something like drama or atmosphere on the same album.
posted by dbx at 6:43 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by dbx at 6:43 AM on June 1, 2018
As a native West Virginian I am contractually obligated to like Country Roads which mention the Blue Ridge Mountains which aren't really a WV thing but rather Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
posted by mmascolino at 7:25 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by mmascolino at 7:25 AM on June 1, 2018
The theme song for The Big Bang Theory, by Barenaked Ladies
"The autotrophs began to drool" — Autotrophs don't drool. Drooling is a behavior limited to animals, and all animals are heterotrophs.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:29 AM on June 1, 2018
"The autotrophs began to drool" — Autotrophs don't drool. Drooling is a behavior limited to animals, and all animals are heterotrophs.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:29 AM on June 1, 2018
Regarding "Dark Side of the Moon", during the song Eclipse, when the music ends and the heart starts beating again, you can faintly hear someone say, "There's no dark side of the moon, really. As a matter of fact it's all dark"
At approximately 5:20
Here is that voice enhanced with an added bit:
The only thing that makes it look light is the sun.
posted by GregorWill at 7:46 AM on June 1, 2018
At approximately 5:20
Here is that voice enhanced with an added bit:
The only thing that makes it look light is the sun.
posted by GregorWill at 7:46 AM on June 1, 2018
"Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith: "You can't catch me 'cause the rabbit done died." Presumably indicating that the woman in question was pregnant, as judged by the rabbit test, which was used for pregnancy testing prior to the advent of modern monoclonal antibody-based tests.
As the wikipedia article notes, it was a common misconception that the rabbit dying indicated that the woman was pregnant. (Aerosmith is far from the only one ever to make this mistake.) The rabbit was euthanized in any case; it was post-mortem examination of the rabbit's ovaries which led to the determination of whether the woman was pregnant.
(That said, the lyrics to "Sweet Emotion" are so jumbled it's hard to tell exactly what Aerosmith means.)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:49 AM on June 1, 2018
As the wikipedia article notes, it was a common misconception that the rabbit dying indicated that the woman was pregnant. (Aerosmith is far from the only one ever to make this mistake.) The rabbit was euthanized in any case; it was post-mortem examination of the rabbit's ovaries which led to the determination of whether the woman was pregnant.
(That said, the lyrics to "Sweet Emotion" are so jumbled it's hard to tell exactly what Aerosmith means.)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:49 AM on June 1, 2018
Not "factual error" per se, but Whiskeytown's (Ryan Adams) "If he can't have you" has the couplet,
Hang the picture up on the wall,
Tighten all the nails so it don't fall
Which is just the dumbest, most oblivious line I've ever heard. Might as well talk about the sweet dual exhaust on your electric car. /rant
posted by notsnot at 7:54 AM on June 1, 2018
Hang the picture up on the wall,
Tighten all the nails so it don't fall
Which is just the dumbest, most oblivious line I've ever heard. Might as well talk about the sweet dual exhaust on your electric car. /rant
posted by notsnot at 7:54 AM on June 1, 2018
Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel
From the annotation on genius.com:
Johnson City, along with Bristol and Kingsport, make up an area known locally as the “Tri-Cities” where North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia meet, and are within 50 miles of Kentucky and West Virginia—they lie at the convergence of the five states most defined by the Appalachian Mountains.
If you start in Cumberland Gap, TN (or pass through the geographic region that is named Cumberland Gap) you have to go EAST, not west, if you want to get to Johnson City.
posted by BeHereNow at 8:00 AM on June 1, 2018
From the annotation on genius.com:
Johnson City, along with Bristol and Kingsport, make up an area known locally as the “Tri-Cities” where North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia meet, and are within 50 miles of Kentucky and West Virginia—they lie at the convergence of the five states most defined by the Appalachian Mountains.
If you start in Cumberland Gap, TN (or pass through the geographic region that is named Cumberland Gap) you have to go EAST, not west, if you want to get to Johnson City.
posted by BeHereNow at 8:00 AM on June 1, 2018
Steve Martin is a smart man, but in the cold light of day King Tut was not actually born in Arizona, nor did he ever move to Babylonia.
posted by the phlegmatic king at 8:02 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by the phlegmatic king at 8:02 AM on June 1, 2018
All of Alanis Morissette's examples of irony in "Ironic".
posted by sweetpotato at 8:23 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by sweetpotato at 8:23 AM on June 1, 2018
Dramarama song "What Are We Gonna Do?" starts with:
"It's April 21st and everybody knows today is Earth Day
Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday to whoever's being born"
Earth Day is April 22, and Christmas isn't in April.
posted by terrapin at 9:04 AM on June 1, 2018
"It's April 21st and everybody knows today is Earth Day
Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday to whoever's being born"
Earth Day is April 22, and Christmas isn't in April.
posted by terrapin at 9:04 AM on June 1, 2018
All of Alanis Morissette's examples of irony in "Ironic"
... which makes the title, what?
Also, in Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me, they go "red light yellow light green light go", and I 'm not aware of any lights that do that. In racing, red seems to signify some sort of abort.
posted by turkeybrain at 9:08 AM on June 1, 2018
... which makes the title, what?
Also, in Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me, they go "red light yellow light green light go", and I 'm not aware of any lights that do that. In racing, red seems to signify some sort of abort.
posted by turkeybrain at 9:08 AM on June 1, 2018
I have it on good authority that Grandmaster Flash was actually not standing close to any dangerous edge, although he probably would not have appreciated being pushed anyway.
Contrary to what the B-52s state, Chrysler has never had a production model that seats about twenty, nor one that is as big as a typical whale.
While some may indeed like it hot, it is very unlikely that any thermostat could be turned up high enough that the occupants of the room would fry.
Billy Bragg continues to sing “A New England” but his claims of being 22 now have not been accurate since late 1980.
If the sun refused to shine, Jimi Hendrix would have almost certainly been as discomfited as the rest of humanity.
Most physicists reject Steve Miller’s claim that time keeps slipping, slipping, slipping into the future.
The sun does not always shine on TV.
Bob Marley shot neither the sheriff nor the deputy.
There is no town called Malice.
And Mariah Carey wants a damn sight more than you for Christmas.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:14 AM on June 1, 2018
Contrary to what the B-52s state, Chrysler has never had a production model that seats about twenty, nor one that is as big as a typical whale.
While some may indeed like it hot, it is very unlikely that any thermostat could be turned up high enough that the occupants of the room would fry.
Billy Bragg continues to sing “A New England” but his claims of being 22 now have not been accurate since late 1980.
If the sun refused to shine, Jimi Hendrix would have almost certainly been as discomfited as the rest of humanity.
Most physicists reject Steve Miller’s claim that time keeps slipping, slipping, slipping into the future.
The sun does not always shine on TV.
Bob Marley shot neither the sheriff nor the deputy.
There is no town called Malice.
And Mariah Carey wants a damn sight more than you for Christmas.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:14 AM on June 1, 2018
John Denver's Country Roads talks about the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River being in West Virginia. They aren't.
posted by irisclara at 11:15 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by irisclara at 11:15 AM on June 1, 2018
Speaking of Def Leppard: Though some people may have been livin' like a lover, radar phones were not available in 1987.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:57 AM on June 1, 2018
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:57 AM on June 1, 2018
Luscious Jackson's song Water Your Garden claims that "flowers can never grow in the snow".
posted by Lexica at 12:47 PM on June 1, 2018
posted by Lexica at 12:47 PM on June 1, 2018
Yes, East Chicago exists, but Chicago DOES also have an East Sise.
posted by bibliogrrl at 12:57 PM on June 1, 2018
posted by bibliogrrl at 12:57 PM on June 1, 2018
There is no town called Malice.
But there is a village called Malice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malice,_Lublin_Voivodeship
Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba
posted by Kafkaesque at 1:36 PM on June 1, 2018
But there is a village called Malice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malice,_Lublin_Voivodeship
Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba
posted by Kafkaesque at 1:36 PM on June 1, 2018
I'm just going to quietly leave this here:
Lil Yachty
posted by radiosilents at 1:50 PM on June 1, 2018
Lil Yachty
posted by radiosilents at 1:50 PM on June 1, 2018
False:
* You cannot do whatever you feel at the YMCA.
* Krakatoa is west, not east, of Java.
Not provably false but highly implausible:
* Unless in addition to playing basketball in the park with his friends he also played in a more formalized setting with an official scorekeeper, it is implausible that Ice Cube was able to record sufficiently accurate assist and rebound statistics in order to plausibly claim that he scored a triple-double last week.
* It is highly unlikely that a commercial taxicab picking up street hails (as opposed to a dispatched limo or towncar service) would have a personalized license plate. Furthermore, various online databases indicate that the California license plate "FRESH" is currently registered to a 2002 Jeep Wrangler (an extremely unlikely make and model for a taxi), though due to the transferability of license plates it is uncertain what vehicle may or may not have borne that plate in 1990.
* While it is possible to encounter areas with speed limits that are not even multiples of 5 miles per hour, these are usually found at relatively low speeds (e.g.: <15 mph). It is unlikely that one would encounter an area with a 54 mph limit.
Not exactly false but highly misleading:
* Despite Sean Kingston's entreaties, a shawty fire burning on the dance floor is not considered an emergency that would require calling 911.
posted by mhum at 2:00 PM on June 1, 2018
* You cannot do whatever you feel at the YMCA.
* Krakatoa is west, not east, of Java.
Not provably false but highly implausible:
* Unless in addition to playing basketball in the park with his friends he also played in a more formalized setting with an official scorekeeper, it is implausible that Ice Cube was able to record sufficiently accurate assist and rebound statistics in order to plausibly claim that he scored a triple-double last week.
* It is highly unlikely that a commercial taxicab picking up street hails (as opposed to a dispatched limo or towncar service) would have a personalized license plate. Furthermore, various online databases indicate that the California license plate "FRESH" is currently registered to a 2002 Jeep Wrangler (an extremely unlikely make and model for a taxi), though due to the transferability of license plates it is uncertain what vehicle may or may not have borne that plate in 1990.
* While it is possible to encounter areas with speed limits that are not even multiples of 5 miles per hour, these are usually found at relatively low speeds (e.g.: <15 mph). It is unlikely that one would encounter an area with a 54 mph limit.
Not exactly false but highly misleading:
* Despite Sean Kingston's entreaties, a shawty fire burning on the dance floor is not considered an emergency that would require calling 911.
posted by mhum at 2:00 PM on June 1, 2018
He said later that he probably should have called it I am the Carpenter
...be he'd already said he was taller than Jesus.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:56 PM on June 1, 2018
...be he'd already said he was taller than Jesus.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:56 PM on June 1, 2018
Hans Solo is not "always stroking [his] own Wookiee."
However, Barry White is black, Frank Black is white, and the singer is not black like Barry White, but white like Frank Black is.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:01 PM on June 1, 2018
However, Barry White is black, Frank Black is white, and the singer is not black like Barry White, but white like Frank Black is.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:01 PM on June 1, 2018
Also false:
* Red solo cups are made of molded No. 6 thermoplastic polystyrene and thus (barring exceptional circumstances) would take much longer than 14 years to decompose.
posted by mhum at 3:29 PM on June 1, 2018
* Red solo cups are made of molded No. 6 thermoplastic polystyrene and thus (barring exceptional circumstances) would take much longer than 14 years to decompose.
posted by mhum at 3:29 PM on June 1, 2018
A "barchetta," meaning "little boat" in Italian, is a two-seater sports car with a convertible top or none at all. Whether red or not, the "ch" is sounded like the initial of English "key," not "chair."
posted by tellumo at 4:01 PM on June 1, 2018
posted by tellumo at 4:01 PM on June 1, 2018
Harry Connick, Jr., sings of riding a roller coaster, hanging on with one finger so "the other ten can rest" in "You Didn't Know Me When."
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 6:51 PM on June 1, 2018
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 6:51 PM on June 1, 2018
There are many things that you can do before the cream sits out too long besides whipping it.
However, we really are DEVO.
posted by SansPoint at 7:55 PM on June 1, 2018
However, we really are DEVO.
posted by SansPoint at 7:55 PM on June 1, 2018
John Denver's Country Roads talks about the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River being in West Virginia. They aren't.
They are, however, in west Virginia, aren't they? I didn't hear him singing a capital lettter there.
posted by stevis23 at 8:02 PM on June 1, 2018
They are, however, in west Virginia, aren't they? I didn't hear him singing a capital lettter there.
posted by stevis23 at 8:02 PM on June 1, 2018
A small portion of the Shenandoah is really in West Virginia.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:17 PM on June 1, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 8:17 PM on June 1, 2018
Sorry to be all, "well, actually," about it, but traffic lights in the UK, do, in fact, go red light/yellow light/green light/go. Except the yellow light is generally referred to as amber, so maybe that bit is kind of inaccurate! Source: just got my UK driving licence.
posted by skybluepink at 12:09 AM on June 2, 2018
posted by skybluepink at 12:09 AM on June 2, 2018
These is no such word as "pompatus" (from "The Joker", by Steve Miller). See also this "Straight Dope" article.
posted by alex1965 at 5:40 AM on June 2, 2018
posted by alex1965 at 5:40 AM on June 2, 2018
In defense of songwriters Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver, I think the scientific consensus is that life there (and elsewhere) is indeed older than the trees and younger than the mountains. Whether it is flowin’ like a breeze remains a disputed finding.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:48 AM on June 2, 2018
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:48 AM on June 2, 2018
* It's unlikely Joe Jackson saw pretty women walking with actual gorillas
* There is no way The Beatles worked 8 days in a single earth week
* Katrina could walk in sunshine but not on sunshine
* Who you gonna call? G-H-O-S-T-B-U-S-T-E-R-S = 446-782-8783 #77 446 isn't even a valid area code so I couldn't call them
posted by drinkmaildave at 1:18 PM on June 2, 2018
* There is no way The Beatles worked 8 days in a single earth week
* Katrina could walk in sunshine but not on sunshine
* Who you gonna call? G-H-O-S-T-B-U-S-T-E-R-S = 446-782-8783 #77 446 isn't even a valid area code so I couldn't call them
posted by drinkmaildave at 1:18 PM on June 2, 2018
Katie Melua’s nine million bicycles had an error about the size of the universe. You can hear the corrected version here.
Also the nine million figure is an estimate. And it is this also able to be denied.
posted by biffa at 12:23 PM on June 4, 2018
Also the nine million figure is an estimate. And it is this also able to be denied.
posted by biffa at 12:23 PM on June 4, 2018
I guess it's not technically a factual error but the song Hey Ya by Outkast as the line "Shake it like a Polaroid picture!" even though shaking Polaroid pictures is completely unnecessary. It doesn't help them develop any better or faster.
posted by bondcliff at 12:42 PM on June 4, 2018
posted by bondcliff at 12:42 PM on June 4, 2018
Two edge cases:
Celebrated Summer by Husker Du has the line "somewhere in April time they add another hour", which was true when the song was written (except in Indiana and Arizona), but is no longer true because Daylight Savings Time now happens in March.
One Great City by the Weakerthans has the line "The Guess Who sucked, the Jets were lousy anyway", which was arguably true at the time the song was written, but the Jets are back in Winnipeg and actually pretty good now, so a 2018 Winnipeg bus rider would probably not have that same complaint. I grant this one is pretty marginal.
posted by Copronymus at 1:22 PM on June 4, 2018
Celebrated Summer by Husker Du has the line "somewhere in April time they add another hour", which was true when the song was written (except in Indiana and Arizona), but is no longer true because Daylight Savings Time now happens in March.
One Great City by the Weakerthans has the line "The Guess Who sucked, the Jets were lousy anyway", which was arguably true at the time the song was written, but the Jets are back in Winnipeg and actually pretty good now, so a 2018 Winnipeg bus rider would probably not have that same complaint. I grant this one is pretty marginal.
posted by Copronymus at 1:22 PM on June 4, 2018
Here’s the singer of Half Man Half Biscuit nitpicking the song Gertcha by Chas & Dave for incorrectly saying that England was dumped out of the 1974 World Cup by Poland, when it was that England didn’t get enough points from its qualifying group.
posted by Kattullus at 1:39 PM on June 4, 2018
posted by Kattullus at 1:39 PM on June 4, 2018
It seems unlikely that children by the millions sing (sang) for Alex Chilton when he comes (came) 'round.
posted by Lexica at 3:32 PM on June 4, 2018
posted by Lexica at 3:32 PM on June 4, 2018
The lion prefers grassy plains and savannahs, open woodlands with bushes and scrub bordering rivers. It does not live in the rainforest and rarely enters dense forest. So, it is unlikely for the lion to be sleeping in the jungle tonight.
posted by peeedro at 5:33 PM on June 5, 2018
posted by peeedro at 5:33 PM on June 5, 2018
In "Satisfied" from Hamilton, Eliza sings "My father has no sons." In fact, her father DID have sons. If you search "Hamilton" "has no sons," you'll get a bunch of pages listing various inaccuracies in songs throughout the show.
(This one annoys me because so much of the show IS so factually correct and I really felt like there had to be a way for Miranda to get Eliza's reality across without this particular inaccuracy. I am in awe of both the overall accuracy of the show, and also Miranda's ability to take artistic license with the facts when he thought it made sense.)
posted by kristi at 11:34 AM on June 7, 2018
(This one annoys me because so much of the show IS so factually correct and I really felt like there had to be a way for Miranda to get Eliza's reality across without this particular inaccuracy. I am in awe of both the overall accuracy of the show, and also Miranda's ability to take artistic license with the facts when he thought it made sense.)
posted by kristi at 11:34 AM on June 7, 2018
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the... northern mountainous region.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:48 AM on June 10, 2018
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:48 AM on June 10, 2018
Courtesy of a favorite bartender: Surely not everybody was kung fu fighting.
posted by Lexica at 5:51 PM on June 12, 2018
posted by Lexica at 5:51 PM on June 12, 2018
I can personally attest that it does, in fact, rain in Indianapolis in the summertime.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:15 AM on June 14, 2018
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:15 AM on June 14, 2018
In that vein, it does rain in southern California and it doesn't always pour when it does so. Though it very very rarely rains in southern California in the summertime, like once every two years or so.
Maybe Roger Miller got hit on the head with one of the little green apples and thought he was in Indianapolis although he was really in LA? Actually listening to the song for the first time now, he seems to be reminiscing about a lost love--
And if that's not loving me all then all I've got to say
God didn't make those little green apples
It don't rain in Indianapolis in the summer time ...
... and it don't snow in Minneapolis when the winter comes
And so he actually is saying that it DOES rain in Indianapolis in the summertime and it DOES snow in Minneapolis and despite the fact that he and his lover are separated that she does love him.
posted by GregorWill at 1:01 PM on June 14, 2018
Maybe Roger Miller got hit on the head with one of the little green apples and thought he was in Indianapolis although he was really in LA? Actually listening to the song for the first time now, he seems to be reminiscing about a lost love--
And if that's not loving me all then all I've got to say
God didn't make those little green apples
It don't rain in Indianapolis in the summer time ...
... and it don't snow in Minneapolis when the winter comes
And so he actually is saying that it DOES rain in Indianapolis in the summertime and it DOES snow in Minneapolis and despite the fact that he and his lover are separated that she does love him.
posted by GregorWill at 1:01 PM on June 14, 2018
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posted by cobaltnine at 7:39 PM on May 31, 2018